The Portrayal of ADL in Lorenzo’s Oil "Lorenzo's Oil" is a harrowing movie that chronicles the series of events that transpire after a happily married couple's son is diagnosed with a fatal disease called adrenoleukodystrophy. The film was released in 1993 and received four stars because of its daring and personal exploration of such a serious and emotional ordeal. It is based on a true story and the characters in it supposedly are a direct representation of their real-life counterparts.
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) also known as Addison-Schilder Disease or Siemerling-Creutzfeldt Disease, is one of a group of genetic disorders called the leukodystrophies that cause damage to the myelin sheath, an insulating membrane that surrounds nerve cells in the brain. Women have two X-chromosomes and are the carriers of the disease, but since men only have one X-chromosome and lack the protective effect of the extra X-chromosome, they are more severely affected.
The childhood form is the most severe, with onset between ages 4 and 10. The most common symptoms are usually behavioral changes such as abnormal withdrawal or aggression, poor memory, and poor school performance. Other symptoms include visual loss, learning disabilities, seizures, poorly articulated speech, difficulty swallowing, deafness, disturbances of gait and coordination, fatigue, intermittent vomiting, increased skin pigmentation, and progressive dementia. In the adult form between ages 21 and 35, symptoms may include progressive stiffness, weakness or paralysis of the lower limbs, and ataxia.
In the opening scene, Lorenzo, his father Augusto (played by Nick Nolte), and his mother Michaela (played by Susan Sarandon) are depicted as a perfectly content family. Augusto and Michaela are an energetic couple in love with their son and who live to see him happy. Not long into the movie, Lorenzo's normal condition starts to deteriorate and he develops symptoms commonly associated with adrenoleukodystrophy. Lorenzo's deterioration starts with subtle behavioral changes. He begins to struggle in school and starts to withdraw from others. At first, his parents notice something amiss, but fail to recognize that something is seriously wrong with their son. Once Lorenzo's failing health becomes more apparent, Augusto and Michaela seek a medical diagnosis. Doctors, primarily represented in the film by Professor Nikolas, tell them that their son indeed has adrenoleukodystrophy. Augusto and Michaela have no idea what constitutes this extremely rare disease. They are informed that Lorenzo's health will continue to fail and that tragically, he will lose his young life because of his illness. Lorenzo is eventually placed in hospital care while his body grows weaker. He loses some of his senses, begins to have seizures, loses his ability to speak, has difficulty swallowing (and consequentially cannot feed himself), vomits from time to time, and develops dementia to the point that he is almost entirely separated from the world around him. While Lorenzo is waging his personal battle, his parents commence in a hurried and even frantic search for a cure to their son's ailment.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Augusto and Michaela experience marital difficulties stemming from the stress related to their beloved son facing assured death. They engage in multiple verbal arguments and nearly cannot take the severity of the situation. When it becomes apparent that hospital care is not helping her son, Michaela moves Lorenzo home and sets up her own treatment center in the living room. Augusto spends much of his time researching adrenoleukodystrophy in a library and conversing with medical personnel. He even contacts a group of parents whose children are dying because of the disease.
Eventually, Augusto and Michaela's research uncovers a possible treatment. A refined version of olive oil, administered to Lorenzo in certain amounts, begins to have noticeable, positive effects. He could swallow for himself and answer yes or no questions by blinking. He also regains his sight and shown to be learning how to use a computer. While this unconventional, home-remedy type treatment, proves to be beneficial to Lorenzo, the medical community refuses to inform the other parents and the public that there might be a legitimate cure for adrenoleukodystrophy. As is typical, more testing is needed. Eventually, Lorenzo's Oil is administered to other children and its remedic properties are acknowledged. Despite the serious tone conveyed by most of the film, the closing scenes provide hope for families who (unfortunately) have to go through similar experiences.
Overall, the film does an excellent job in both accurately describing the deterioration of a young boy with the disorder and explaining a family’s ordeal. The only thing is that in the film they say that a cure (Lorenzo’s Oil) was found. Unfortunately this is not the case for those already with symptoms, although the oil is now a recognized and hopefully preventative treatment for all boys under 6 with the gene who are not yet presenting symptoms.
Works Cited: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/adrenoleukodystrophy/adrenoleukodystrophy.htm http://www.stopald.org/ald/whatisald.asp
http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001182.htm
